Feature Story

HISTORY: POST-WAR SURVIVORS WHO'VE GONE

by Bob Hagin

April 26, 1996

The year 1946 was an exciting time for American car buyers and it's
hard to understand the general euphoria that prevailed 50 years ago
unless you were there. World War II was over and we were sitting on top
of the world, ready to buy anything that wasn't rationed.

And of all those non-essential "dream" items that we longed for, at
the top was a new automobile. We had been limping along driving
well-worn derelicts (my dad drove a rolled-over Ford that had been
resurrected for the duration) and we were ready for new "wheels." All
the pre-war players were back (the exception being La Salle) and almost
all of them rushed into production with restyled '41 models.

But some survived only to fall later. These are the makes that made
it through the war only to disappear some years later.

CROSLEY - Industrialist Powell Crosley had a dream of making an
inexpensive and economical car for the American public. His '39 offering
was as stark as a tool shed and powered by a minuscule two-cylinder
engine. But the 1946 Crosley was an all-new, still-tiny product that was
more conventional in design and powered by a four-cylinder engine that
was an update of one Powell had made for the government. For six years,
Crosley made sedans, convertibles and even sports two-seaters but the
end came in 1952 when General Tire and Rubber (by then the major stock
holder) pulled the plug.

DESOTO - The DeSoto was conceived and first produced by Chrysler in
1928 ostensibly to take a page from the GM marketing manual and make "A
Car For Every Pocketbook," plugged in between Dodge and Chrysler's own
lower-priced Model 65. But its prices were basically the same as it's
"little brother" Dodge and after the war, DeSoto had a problem
maintaining its own identity and reason for existence. Its "stretched"
'46 Suburban was actually a limo and thousands saw service as Yellow
Cabs in the late '40s. But, alas, by '61, DeSoto was absorbed by Dodge.

HUDSON - A very old name (the first was an '09 version), the Hudson
was innovative but stodgy. My mother's uncle was a Hudson mechanic for
30 years and swore that his "F-head" '27 Super Six was the fastest car
on the road and was quite willing to prove it to anyone he encountered,
as I was told. The company survived World War II with a re-grilled '42
and introduced its sensational Step-Down monocoque cars in '48. It
dominated NASCAR stock car racing in the early '50s with its famous
Hornet but passed away in 1953 when it merged with Nash.

NASH - Another old timer, dating back to 1916. Nashes were always
relatively popular, and in 1946 re-entered the market with its pre-war
cars, but managed to upgrade them with more luxurious appointments. As
an interesting historical note, a Nash Ambassador was the pace car for
the first post-war re-run of the Indy 500. It introduced the "compact
car" to Americans in '50 with its Rambler (a name from Nash history) and
its strange little Metropolitan (made by Austin of England) in '54. A
merger with Hudson in 1954 produced the American Motors Corporation
which became part of Chrysler in '87 by way of a previous merger with
the French automaker Renault.

PACKARD -"Ask The Man Who Owns One" had been the Packard motto
since 1901 and it was arguably the most prestigious name in American
autos before World War II. Although the post-war Packard was of high
quality, it was never able to recapture its pre-war panache. Its problem
was a reluctance to keep up with the times and later, styling that
appeared bloated compared to the competition. It kept its straight-eight
flat-head engine years after Cadillac went to a modern overhead-valve V8
and it showed in sales. Packard merged with Studebaker in 1954 and the
last Packards (labeled '58s) were, in reality, rebadged Studebakers.

STUDEBAKER - With the oldest name in wheeled vehicles (it produced
horse-drawn wagons for the Union Army during our Civil War), Studebaker
emerged from World War II with a face-lifted pre-war model. But by the
spring of '46, the company produced the first truly modern auto design
developed by a major manufacturer. It featured an "envelope" body (a
first in this country) with fenders that were nearly as high as the hood
and the trunk, another first. But like the others, it lacked capital for
expansion and in an attempt to stay in the game, it merged with Packard.
The last Studebakers were make in Canada in '66.

WILLYS - Having made a name for itself manufacturing the wartime
Jeep, Willys was the only company that didn't return with a rehashed
pre-war auto. Instead it offered "civilian" versions of its returning
veteran. It made "true" Jeeps but also offered a civilian line that
included a station wagon, a phaeton and a sedan delivery that all bore
the Jeep "look." Willys made sedans again in '52 but left the market
altogether in '55, although they subsequently made a vehicle in Brazil.
Kaiser (of HMO fame) bought Willys in '54 and was in turn absorbed by
Chrysler.

War is Hell and World War II particularly grim. But nearly as bad
were the car companies who survived it unscathed - only to fall "hoers
de combat" in the Car Wars that followed.